Guarino reappointment rescinded

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to effectively end Tom Guarino's employment as Siskiyou County Counsel, effective Nov. 2. The action was achieved by a rescission of a previous action taken nine months ago.

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By John Bowman

Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA

By John Bowman

Posted Sep. 19, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Updated Sep 19, 2012 at 3:52 PM

By John Bowman

Posted Sep. 19, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Updated Sep 19, 2012 at 3:52 PM

YREKA

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to effectively end Tom Guarino's employment as Siskiyou County Counsel, effective Nov. 2. The action was achieved by a rescission of a previous action taken nine months ago.

On Dec. 13, 2011, the board voted 4-1 in favor of appointing Guarino to a second four-year term as County Counsel. That second term would have begun on Nov. 2. District 2 Supervisor Ed Valenzuela was the only dissenting vote, stating concerns about reappointing Guarino nearly a year before his current term ended.

The board voted unanimously yesterday to rescind Guarino's appointment to a second term.

On Aug. 16, the board voted unanimously to investigate "a personnel issue" involving Guarino. The next day he was ordered to leave his office and was barred from re-entering thereafter. He has not been performing the duties of county counsel since, though he has continued to receive full pay and benefits while the investigation proceeds.

Neither the board nor Guarino have given any indication of the specific allegations that led to the investigation.

On Sept. 11, the board discussed the issue in closed session. Before the closed session, Guarino submitted a letter to the board alleging their actions against him are illegal. Later that day, Guarino attempted to enter the county counsel office for the stated purpose of retrieving personal items but was met at the door by Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey and Assistant Sheriff John Villani.

Lopey and Villani barred Guarino from entering the office, stating that they were acting on orders from the board of supervisors and the county administrator.

Guarino also submitted a letter from his attorney to the board yesterday in advance of the vote to rescind his reappointment.

The letter states, "Mr. Guarino objects to the board of supervisors' intention to rescind his appointment to a second term for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the board of supervisors is without jurisdiction or legal authority to take such an action."

In yesterday's letter, Guarino's attorney John Lawrence repeats his original allegation that the board's actions violate Government Code section 27641. The code lists two methods by which a county counsel may be removed from office. Section (b) of the code states that a county counsel "may be removed at any time by the board of supervisors for neglect of duty, malfeasance or misconduct in office, or other good cause shown, upon written accusation to be filed with the board of supervisors, by a person not a member of the board, and heard by the board and sustained by a three-fifths vote of the board."

The letter submitted to the board yesterday states that Guarino has already been sworn in for his second term and several conditions of his new contract have been put in effect for several months, including a voluntary reduction in salary and medical benefits.

Page 2 of 2 - David Prentice of Cota Cole, LLP – the law firm hired to oversee the Guarino investigation performed by a private investigator and represent the county in this case – told the Daily News he does not believe the actions taken against Guarino are illegal.